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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Golden Time. Does anyone else feel uneasy about it?

74 replies

Roseformeplease · 22/08/2012 18:59

My daughter's school has recently had a total change of staff including a new, rather domineering, head. The school is a tny, rural one and had an excellent reputation with no behaviour issues at all and an outstanding inspection. There have never been any " behaviour management" systems in place before. The pupils worked really hard, got on well and played together. The new Head has put in place "golden time" which is taken away for bad behaviour. I am very uneasy about this as, up until now, good behaviour has been its own reward. They have not needed an incentive.

Can the Mumsnet jury let me know what the feeling is? I would be interested to know if it actually works or, as I suspect, it just teaches kids to behave for a reward rather than as a habit.

OP posts:

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GnocchiNineDoors · 25/08/2012 12:06

If there is no bad behaviour, then no student will be stripped of their Golden Time so surely it.doesnt matter? Theyll ALL end up with 20/30 mins per week of something 'off curriculum' and a sports game, yes, even Dangerous Dodgeball grin is a good activity to put into this slot.

Rosebud05 · 25/08/2012 12:12

Eh? Since when had no Golden time equated with no free activity?

My children's school doesn't use Golden time, but has a rich, varied curriculum that has time for self-chosen activities.

OP is talking about Golden time as a behaviour management tool.

exoticfruits · 25/08/2012 12:37

And it gives free time. If a DC is a pain in the neck all week it is a bit unfair that they should then have it. If the behaviour is good they all win. If OP's DD misses it, which I doubt, she could just point out that it is a simple choice-I would expect mine to make the right choice.

exoticfruits · 25/08/2012 12:39

Perhaps the mistake it calling it 'golden time'- maybe just free time for all those who are up to date with work and no behaviour issues to address.

mrz · 25/08/2012 12:47

Why do they need "free time" when they are only in school for a few hours a week and they can have all the free time they want for the rest of the week

exoticfruits · 25/08/2012 12:50

Rather than free time-personal choice-I loved it when I was at primary school.

exoticfruits · 25/08/2012 12:51

I adored my village primary and the thing that sticks in my mind most were Friday afternoons when we got a completely free choice of what to do. I don't recall it being based on behaviour but I was well behaved anyway-I think we all were.

exoticfruits · 25/08/2012 12:56

The new Head is unlikely to change anyway. Our local school had a new Head and over a 2 year period there had been a complete change of staff because they didn't get on with her. They still got an outstanding Ofsted. I know another one similar, a nightmare to work with and not to good with parents-another outstanding Ofsted. Both were great with paperwork!

exoticfruits · 25/08/2012 12:57

If she is domineering I would watch out for more worrying changes than 'golden time'.

mrz · 25/08/2012 13:22

I just feel that most children can watch DVDs andplay Video games etc at home so why waste the few hours they are in school

vodkaanddietirnbru · 25/08/2012 13:47

ours dont watch dvd's/play video games at golden time. DD was designing some sort of leaflet (on paper using pencils) and ds was playing beyblades with 3 other boys.

mrz · 25/08/2012 13:59

I would put Beyblades in the etc category

BertieBotts · 25/08/2012 14:08

I don't like the concept of golden time either for the reasons you describe and it saddens me to hear of it being used in such a small school. However you won't get many "against" opinions expressed because of its wide usage.

I think dodgeball us fine, though. I'm sure the teachers would have their eyes open for potential bullying situations.

rabbitstew · 25/08/2012 16:05

I don't think our HT is at all keen on it (she, probably accurately, doesn't think it is an effective behaviour management tool and thinks the time could be spent more productively), but once it's in place, I think it's very hard to change, because it is very popular with most children. They aren't allowed to bring things in from home, though, but can play in their class's outside space with friends, access the computers (but available websites are, of course, quite limited, given that it's a school for 4-11 year olds, so the most exciting it gets is accessing "Cool Maths" games), go to the reading corner, have access to an arts and crafts table, do some writing and drawing, play board games, etc. I think the children see it as part of the school timetable which has to be sacrificed if class behaviour falls below expectations, rather than seeing it as a reward for good behaviour and working hard.

mrz · 25/08/2012 16:21

When our head was appointed he suggested Golden Time (as a way to give staff non contact time more than anything) but everyone was against it ... so we don't have it.

neverputasockinatoaster · 25/08/2012 16:42

I am a teacher in a primary school.
We have Golden Time.
I detest it.
It works on the children in KS1 - they get really upset about losing a minute here and there. However the children in KS2 who behave poorly tend not to give a monkeys about losing time doing an activity they are not really interested in - our school offers about 10 activities that the children choose from. The list goes round at the beginning of the week and they sign up but if is their classes turn to choose last they don't really want to do the activities left... they all want to play in the ICT suite or do some thing we can't offer ... soo it has little effect. The well behaved ones behave well anyway........
I have always had a policy of Friday pm being 'choosing' with a range of activities on offer which you got to do IF all work had been finished. I and most of my colleagues want to return to that kind of autonomy but SMT don't.

exoticfruits · 25/08/2012 17:46

I hadn't come across DVDs and video games being part of golden time.

mrz · 25/08/2012 18:33

Have you missed the threads on MN about Golden Time DVDs ...and for play in the ICT suite read on line video games ...

exoticfruits · 25/08/2012 18:48

Yes.
I was only going through experience of many schools. DVDs are hardly a choice they are imposed on everyone. The ICT suite has never been an option either.

mrz · 25/08/2012 18:54

I remember a thread where the choice for GT was outdoor sport or a DVD in the hall ... for the whole of Friday afternoon

exoticfruits · 25/08/2012 19:22

A problem with all these things - they get misunderstood. If you don't want outdoor sport you might conclude you can cause trouble and miss it!

Bongaloo · 25/08/2012 21:28

My DD hates GT. Maybe it's because she's quite shy and quiet and feels overwhelmed by it.
It seems it's her teacher's non contact time and the TA shouts a lot throughout golden time.

exoticfruits · 25/08/2012 22:06

It all seems rather odd to me. Some DCs just choose to curl up with a book- that is what I would do.

cloudymeatballs · 28/08/2012 10:09

It seems pointless at my ds's school (he is 7). If he is naughty...and by that I mean breathing or moving he loses his goldentime, but then if he is good and the remainder of the class are naughty he loses his goldentime so the only thing he has learnt is he is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't but the teacher can continue to feel high and mighty around his little class of 6/7 yr old minions ...oh dear I can feel my blood pressure rising..must...leave...this...thread!

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